Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing-out parade at Puckapunyal
It was a long march from cadet
The Sixth Battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the card
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left

And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean
And there's me in my slouch hat, with my SLR and greens
God help me, I was only nineteen

From Vung Tau, riding Chinooks, to the dust at Nui Dat
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months
But we made our tents a home, VB and pin-ups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And night-time's just a jungle dark and a barking M16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen

A four week operation when each step could mean your last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself
But you wouldn't let your mates down till they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else

Then someone yelled out "Contact!" and the bloke behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a God-almighty roar
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,
God help me, he was going home in June

I can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
Til the morphine came and killed the b_____ row

And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
God help me, I was only nineteen

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen

I can't think of a time when I've played this song and people haven't stopped dead in their tracks. The power derives from the detail, provided by my mate and brother-in-law, Mick Storen, who was brave and trusting enough to share his story with me. A song-writer who gets to write just one song like this in a lifetime is extraordinarily lucky. - JS

See also:
JustSomeLyrics
7
7.100
Adam Gregory Only Know I Do Lyrics
Carly Simon Night Owl Lyrics